Improvement in shuttles for sewing-machines



U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES w. ELLS, on nnrnenronr, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHUTTLES FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

' Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 137,665, dated April8,1873; application filed January 20, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

,Be it known that I, CHAS. W. ELLs, of the city of Bridgeport, in theState of Connecticut, have invented certain Improvements inSewing-Machine Shuttles, of which the following is a specification:

My invention embraces certain improvements in the mode of holding thethread, which enable the operator to affix the thread to the shuttle andtension device, by a peculiar winding process, with great ease andcelerity; and also includes certain alterations in the forms andrelations of devices heretofore used in shuttles, by the effect of whichthe thread is guarded against disarrangement. My invention relates tothat class of sewing-machine shuttles in which one end of the bobbin isheld in position by a movable or swinging clamp pivoted to the inside ofthe shell of the shuttle.

The drawing consists of a perspective view, Figure 1 showing the clampswung out in position to enable the operator to affix the thread in themanner shown, and as described hereinafter; and Fig. 2, a face view,showing the clamp thrown down into the shell in its final position.

The shell of the shuttleA is of ordinary form, but contains an elongatedswinging latch or clamp, c, which is pivoted to the inside of the shellat 0 This clamp, when thrown down into its final position, bears uponthe shell, on the pivoted side, at the extremities only, being madethinner in the middle so as to stand off from the shell and constitute aguide-bar for the thread, as shown on Fig. 2, from g to g.

'The clamp c is bent to a right angle at 0 and notched at 0 to engagethe spindle of the bobbin b. It is again bent to a right angle at 0 soas to return about half-way on the inside of the shell opposite thepivoted side 0 and terminates in a hook, 0 The hook c catches the threadfrom the guide-bar and delivers it to the tensionplate d. Thistension-plate has a toe, d projecting beyond the outer side of theshell, the object of which is to facilitate the catching of the thread,so that it can be readily slipped under the tension-plate. From thetension-plate the thread passes along the inner side of the shell andout through the delivery-aperture f, which, instead of being a roundhole through the side of the shell, is a slot extending in from the edgeof the shell, the thread being retained in the slot f by the clamp 0when the latter is dropped into its final position. The clamp is notchedat f, and grooved on the inner side to receive the thread from thetension-plate.

If desired, the clamp may be provided with a projecting lug to fit intoand close the mouth of the slot f,- but this will probably beunnecessary if, as is shown in Fig. 2, the clamp is made to bear closelyagainst the inner side of the shell at that point.

When the clamp is thrown up in the position shown in Fig. 1 its lower orpivoted end .9 strikes against the end of the bobbin, and serves as astop or brake to hold the bobbin rigidly in the shell, so that thethread cannot pay off during the process of being adjusted to thetension mechanism.

The thread t is represented in Fig. 1 as loosely applied, and the mannerof its application is as follows: The thread is wound upon the bobbin,and a loose end left of two or three inches in length, and the bobbin isthen placed in the shell, the clamp being partly thrown up to admit thebobbin, and then thrown further up to catch and hold the bobbin, asaforesaid. The end of the thread t is then laid in the slot f, and heldagainst the outside of the shell by the pressure of the thumb thereupon.In this way a loop of thread is formed, one leg of which is held in theslot f, as described, and the other leg is held by the bobbin. The bightof the loop thus formed is then seized by the unoccupied hand of theoperator and carried toward the point of the shuttle, so that thebobbin-leg of the loop passes inside a little spur, N, on the clamp,around the outside of the clamp, as shown at b, across the face of theshuttle, and through the hook 0 The other leg of the loop is passedaround the inside of the clamp forward under the toe d, and slippedaround under the tension-plate d,- the toe d being for the purpose offacilitating this part of the operation, and another toe, on theopposite corner of the tension-plate, d being for the purpose ofpreventing the thread from getting unshipped from the tension-plate. Theclamp is then thrown down into the shell, as shown in Fig. 2, and thethread drawn out by the end t until it commences to turn the bob bin,when the shuttle is ready to be placed in Qthemachine for use.

It will be seen that the swinging clamp c has a variety of importantfunctions: First, the common one of engaging one end of thebobbin-spindle and holding it in place; secondly, acting as a brake uponthe bobbin, and holding it during the process of affixing the thread;thirdly, closing the mouth of the slot f, so as to retain the threadtherein; fourthly, constituting a guide-bar for the thread as it paysofi from tne bobbin; and fifthly, acting as a guide to and from thetension device.

It is to be understood, of course, that the clamp may or may not beprovided with a lug to fit into and fill the mouth of the slot f, andthat the clamp, irrespective of the lug, operates as a latch inretaining the thread in the slot f 'by' reason of its close contact withthe inner surface of the shell at that point.

of sewing-machine shuttles; and I do not confine myself to itsapplication to the particular kind of shuttle shown in the drawing.

The little spur b on the clamp is not indispensable, but furnishes aconvenient means of catching the thread extending from the bobbin whenplacing the thread about the swinging clamp.

I claim- 1. In a sewingmachine shuttle, the swinging latch provided withthe stop or brake s, in combination with the bobbin.

2. The swinging clamp or latch 0 provided with the hook c spur b andnotch f, and arranged with reference to the wall of the shuttle havingthe slotted eye, substantially as described.

CHARLES W. ELLS.

Witnesses:

WM. M. FOWLER, EDWARDPAYSON.

